People don't take a stand for the right things in public because they want to be seen as politically correct. -Anil Swarup Free speech is the most essential part of social justice. It is not sufficient to protect free speech against censorship from the government but also from unspoken censorship, known as "political correctness" - Bell Hooks. The extreme right wing often enforces political correctness to the point where any deviation from the norm is suppressed, while the extreme left wing can become so focused on signaling virtue that it loses sight of the core issue, drifting into illogicality. Political extremism often overlooks the nuances and deeper understanding of issues. 1. Left oriented political correctness is based on social justice Bell Hooks criticised mainstream feminism, led by middle-aged white women, for not valuing Black women as equally as their white counterparts. This reinforced their primary identity as white, defined by the white male-dominated society, rather than their identity as women. She also criticised the Black men’s struggle, where, in the quest for racial equality, they replicated the same sexism found in the mainstream white male-dominated society. Bell Hooks argues that feminism is not simply a "man" versus "woman," but a broader issue of : (i) people holding prejudices against marginalised communities, whether based on race, gender, religion, caste, or any other group identity, and (ii) a market driven by uncontrolled capitalism and consumerism, which transforms the majority of people, especially those who are marginalised, into commodities. Bell Hooks advocates for "radical openness" which involves creating spaces where people can have honest, and sometimes uncomfortable, conversations about race, gender, and class. 2. Right oriented political correctness is based on strength with no vulnerability If we don’t acknowledge vulnerability as a part of life, we won’t be able to create safe spaces where people can express themselves, which is essential for economic, political, and social progress. Without embracing vulnerability, it becomes difficult to revisit our roots and scrutinise history, as doing so often brings up the trauma caused by popular narratives propagated by oppressors, which are not grounded in real history based on scientific evidence, but based on the Great Man Theory. Leo Tolstoy debunked thehashtag#GreatManTheory— the idea that a great man brings change and sustains it — in his book War and Peace, which inspired Gandhi and freedom struggle movement of India. Gandhi’s greatest gift to Indian democracy was dismantling the “great man” myth by openly admitting his flaws in his autobiography, preventing any future Prime Minister of Independent India from sustaining a Great Man image in larger public for multiple decades. So, to go beyond political correctness, we must ask: Where is the safe space to talk about (1) class, caste, religion, gender, and (2) personal vulnerabilities ?
Part 1 : India is extremely diverse linguistically. Because of this diversity, a bureaucrat carries two burdens: (i) doing the actual administrative job (ii) understanding cultural and linguistic nuances well enough to negotiate with political leadership This second part often gets ignored, but it has a huge impact on how effectively ideas move through the system or how things happen. Fieldwork helps in understanding the words or sentences, but it is not enough to become articulate. Articulation requires exposure to literature and culture — and articulation is what unites people and turns ideas into reality. Because at the end of the day, even the best ideas depend on how well you communicate them in the language that people trust. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/yashp2411_after-watching-anil-swarup-sir-in-few-podcasts-activity-7395476392932601856-I0f_
Yash PratapI don’t see a connection in the post between articulation and political correctness, and I stand by what I said earlier on articulation. We may be differing because I am not too clear - are we talking about barriers because politicians and bureaucrats don’t speak the same language, or a lack of articulation by the bureaucrat when performing one-on-one? This reminds me of a talk by the then Chief Election Officer, T. N. Seshan, at Mumbai University, where I was doing masters in Political Science. His fiery speech included him being livid about IAS officers bowing to politicians, and he declared IAS as standing for “I Am Sorry.” So, the best articulation would only go so far if the political leadership is smart and, more importantly, non-egoistic.
Alana GonsalvesCommunication skills and political correctness are two different points which I mentioned. From Post 1 In other words, ideas fail because people don’t think through logistics. He argues that two major things stop most people from turning ideas into reality: (i) poor communication skills (ii) excessive political correctness In this post I covered point 2. There is no connection between political correctness and articulation. This is the last part in the sequence. Thanks for reading.
Very true feminism is much broader term. And I believe a person who try to be in good books of society every time can't actually contribute good to the society. Every great person such as Swami Vivekanand , B. R Ambedkar etc challenge society. And if anyone will ever read Gandhi's biography 🤡 I am damn sure you will no longer call him Mahatma. ( yes I am betting) 😌
Interesting how Gandhi tried to dismantle the "great man" myth and we called him "Mahatama". I suppose going beyond political correctness is about psychological safety, and with caste, religion and gender boundaries and biases attached - it is tough. The fear is almost always about "the other person not even listening to your views but imposing their own". Communication maturity, and level of understanding needed for healthy debates is yet to be established as mainstream, with all the media running for rage baits.
Yash PratapYes that's true. In fact I have seen a lot of positive debates on your posts and others recently. Not sure if this is because of the platform - LinkedIn. People here are in a way "professional" mostly.
Yash Pratap
Author
(i) doing the actual administrative job
(ii) understanding cultural and linguistic nuances well enough to negotiate with political leadership
This second part often gets ignored, but it has a huge impact on how effectively ideas move through the system or how things happen.
Fieldwork helps in understanding the words or sentences, but it is not enough to become articulate.
Articulation requires exposure to literature and culture — and articulation is what unites people and turns ideas into reality.
Because at the end of the day, even the best ideas depend on how well you communicate them in the language that people trust.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/yashp2411_after-watching-anil-swarup-sir-in-few-podcasts-activity-7395476392932601856-I0f_
How to make ideas work in real-world constraints | Yash Pratap posted on the topic | LinkedIn
After watching Anil Swarup sir in few podcasts, I realised that he doesn’t just talk about “good ideas” in the abstract — he talks about how ideas survive real-world constraints. He says that for an idea to actually work, it must be: politically...
Alana Gonsalves • 1st
We may be differing because I am not too clear - are we talking about barriers because politicians and bureaucrats don’t speak the same language, or a lack of articulation by the bureaucrat when performing one-on-one?
This reminds me of a talk by the then Chief Election Officer, T. N. Seshan, at Mumbai University, where I was doing masters in Political Science. His fiery speech included him being livid about IAS officers bowing to politicians, and he declared IAS as standing for “I Am Sorry.”
So, the best articulation would only go so far if the political leadership is smart and, more importantly, non-egoistic.
Yash Pratap
Author
From Post 1
In other words, ideas fail because people don’t think through logistics.
He argues that two major things stop most people from turning ideas into reality:
(i) poor communication skills
(ii) excessive political correctness
In this post I covered point 2.
There is no connection between political correctness and articulation. This is the last part in the sequence.
Thanks for reading.
Taniya Andola
• 1st
And I believe a person who try to be in good books of society every time can't actually contribute good to the society.
Every great person such as Swami Vivekanand , B. R Ambedkar etc challenge society.
And if anyone will ever read Gandhi's biography 🤡 I am damn sure you will no longer call him Mahatma. ( yes I am betting) 😌
Yash Pratap
Author
Taniya Andola
• 1st
Yash Pratap
Author
Taniya Andola
• 1st
Aakash Singh
• Following
I suppose going beyond political correctness is about psychological safety, and with caste, religion and gender boundaries and biases attached - it is tough. The fear is almost always about "the other person not even listening to your views but imposing their own". Communication maturity, and level of understanding needed for healthy debates is yet to be established as mainstream, with all the media running for rage baits.
Yash Pratap
Author
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/yashp2411_gandhi-tolstoy-greatmantheory-activity-7371761936910249984-L1zY?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAACxrlNsBn9c2b7b2lZ8UK2ckDiW-YTjaB0I
Aakash Singh
• Following